The new variety of red raspberry, Rubus idaeus L., was created in the course of a planned breeding program carried out at Nelson, Motueka, New Zealand. The parents used to make the cross in 1990, were the varieties ‘Chilcotin’ (seed parent) (unpatented) and ‘Waimea’ (pollen parent) (unpatented).
Seed from this cross was grown and the original plant of the new variety was selected during the 1993-94 summer (Southern Hemisphere) and was found to exhibit:                (a) a semi spine-free upright growth habit of strong vigor,        (b) the ability to form attractive large red fruit of good flavor in high yields on medium length fruiting laterals that ripen mid season, and        (c) resistance to Raspberry Bushy Dwarf Virus (RBDV).        
The new variety was first asexually propagated in 1998, at Motueka, Nelson, New Zealand, being reproduced by vegetative cuttings arising from root cuttings. Cuttings developed this way in spring, root within a 3–4 week propagation period, and thus plants suitable for field planting are then ready in autumn of the same year. The resulting plants propagated true to type, demonstrating that the characteristics of the new cltivar are stable and are transmitted without change through succeeding generations. Since 2000, ‘Korpiko’ has been asexually propagated in vitro via tissue culture methods. The cultivar has propagaated true to type via these means.